annelise

Founder, Designer, Creative

Brooklyn NYC

Designing for behavior change: Annelise Hillmann is a founder CEO and strategic designer. She studied Economics and Psychology at Harvard and founded a VC-backed brand.

Annelise has 6+ years of experience marketing to Gen Z & millennials, having founded her own Gen Z ad agency in 2018.

In 2019, Annelise and Nick Bunn cofounded FRONTMAN, the men's acne care brand creating new ultra-fast solutions tailored to male grooming behaviors. FRONTMAN has been recognized as an innovator in the stagnant men's acne market, winning multiple awards from industry leaders like GQ and Esquire.

As a then-college-student, Annelise successfully raised capital for her category-defining brand and went on to raise $2M from venture capital firms and others.

Over the last 6 years, Annelise has managed creative teams of all sizes; gained in depth knowledge of product innovation, marketing, and growth; and learned the challenges of getting an idea from 0 to 1.

Annelise working with model on set
Headshot Annelise
camera monitor
Annelise Hillmann and Nick Bunn cofounders of FRONTMAN
behind the scenes with creative director & founders

Annelise freelances for various companies (CPG + tech) still in stealth and others post-IPO.

Annelise is a strategic designer: integrating data, insights, and business acumen into her creative outputs. She believes that good designers don’t make things pretty – they make things work.

Annelise brings a strategic, metrics-oriented approach to each project and deeply understands KPIs having owned them herself. Her specialty is designing for behavioral change, in individuals, cultures, and movements.

If you're interested in working with Annelise, shoot her an email (aohillmann @ gmail) – she is always happy to meet cool people building cool things!

Awards & Recognition

Esquire Men's Grooming Awards 2021
Spy Man of the Year Awards 2021
Beauty Innovation Award 2023
GQ Grooming Awards 2023
The Today Show
Dieline
Forbes
Business Insider
Nasdaq
Really Good Emails
FOLLOW ON LINKEDIN →

Work

Thoughts

February 4, 2024

On FRONTMAN, Asian/American-ness, and Self Image

Power over your own image can be the most gratifying sense...
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December 27, 2023

Napkin.

Suddenly I was flooded with images of “frontmen” I had known all along: Freddie Mercury with one arm victoriously high in the air...
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Thoughts

I Build Brands


In 2019, I founded FRONTMAN, the men's acne care brand creating new ultra-fast solutions. In my spare time, I freelance for various companies (CPG + tech) still in stealth and others post-IPO. Shoot me an email (aohillmann @ gmail) – always happy to meet cool people building cool things!